Laura Lohr

Not Just an Alliteration

Here I Go Again #BHBC BlogHer Book Review

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Here I Go Again Jen Lancaster

I finished the book Here I Go Again by Jen Lancaster the other day and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. This New York Times bestselling author is witty, smart, sarcastic and fabulous! The story drew me in instantaneously and I couldn’t put it down from the start. I can’t wait to read more from Jen Lancaster!

The book is about the mean girl/prom queen Lissy Ryder that grew into an equally mean and nasty adult. Just prior to her 20th class reunion, self-centered, unlikable Lissy loses her job and her marriage is hanging by a thread. The prom queen gets a taste of her own medicine at the reunion and has to re-evaluate the actions of her past. When Lissy runs into a classmate of her past, her life is forever changed.

I loved this book—-I mean REALLY, REALLY loved this book! In the beginning, Lissy is such an evil, despicable human being. She is the sort of character in a story everyone loves to hate. Lissy Ryder is so unlikable that I actually found myself hoping for her demise. Jen Lancaster, however, crafts the story in such a way that by the time I reached the middle of the book, I was cheering for Lissy and understanding who she was deep down—or who she could become.

I love the writing style of Jen Lancaster. She uses references to music of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s to tell Lissy’s story and it brought me back to so many memories (both good and bad) of my high school years. I even found myself having dreams (or nightmares) about some of the monster mean girls from my high school days and it sparked my curiosity on Facebook. Ruh oh.

This is a great book for a woman in her mid to late 30’s (or early 40’s). There are so many relatable situations in the book that took me back in time. Seriously, you have to read this book!

Disclaimer: This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own. I was compensated for my review, and received a copy of Here I Go Again HOWEVER, I only recommend products and/or services I personally believe in.

Diary of a Submissive—-BlogHer Book Club Review #BHBC

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Look out Anastasia Steele, here comes Sophie Morgan!

It seems that everyone I know is reading the 50 Shades of Grey series, including my some of the women in my life I would have least suspected would read. The genre of erotic romance has become more mainstream than ever before, it seems.

I read the book Diary of a Submissive this week and I have to admit that I did not expect it to be a love story. It chronicles the real life adventures of a 30-something woman and her quest for love, excitement, sweetness, strength and finding it all in one man. Sophie Morgan is a journalist. She is smart, she is young, she is exploring the world as young people do, but Sophie has a wild side.

I have to admit that I blushed a lot throughout the book. In fact, as I sit here typing this review, I feel the flush in my face as my cheeks redden. The story may not be for all readers, however it is very well written. The writing style has a flow and Sophie is a likable character. Aside from the erotic romance one is sure to discover between the covers of this book, there is a journey of a relatable young woman who comes into her own as she determines what she needs to be happy.

This book is not the genre I would typically read, nonetheless it was good to venture out of my comfort zone of what I would typically read. I may have done a lot of blushing and my eyebrows may have spent the better part of reading raised, in spite of that, I enjoyed the book.

Disclaimer: This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own. I was compensated for my review, and received a copy of Diary of a Submissive HOWEVER, I only recommend products and/or services I personally believe in.

The Chaparone

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The Chaparone by Laura Moriarty

One of this month’s BlogHer Book Club reads was “The Chaperone” by Laura Moriarty. The book is a historical fiction novel about the life of Louise Brooks, a 1920’s silent film star and her chaperone to New York City. I was not familiar with Louise Brooks prior to reading the story, so I saw Louise with fresh eyes. After reading the book, I did some research of my own. She was a beautiful, headstrong, flapper and bad girl in real life.

This story, however, while highlighting some of Louise’s naughty behavior, was really about Cora, Louise’s 36 year old chaperone to New York City. Louise went to New York to audition for the Denishawn Dance Company and Cora was tasked with keeping headstrong Louise safe in the Big Apple. The trip proves to be a turning point in the life of Cora, where her world views change and she finds herself, with the help of 16 year old Louise’s antics and circumstance.

The book did not grip me initially. It was full of details and brought us back in forth, from future, past, and to present. This technique is not one of my favorite writing styles. Nonetheless, once I got further on into the book, I was fully in the grasp of this author and could not put the book down. I ended up finishing the book in one sitting. The author did an amazing job of describing historical landmarks, events, and people, while remaining true to genuine history.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own. I was compensated for my review, and received a copy of The Chaperone HOWEVER, I only recommend products and/or services I personally believe in.

How I Cancelled the Gym Membership and Lost Weight

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We have less than a week before we head to New York for BlogHer and to Boston for fun. There are many things to be done: laundry, bills, organizing, shopping, and fifty other things that I cannot even think about. Finally, after months and months of planning (The planning actually started when the last conference ended, in all reality!), we are headed to the East Coast. I cannot wait to meet with friends, talk about blogging, take in a Broadway show, and vacation with Mr. Bear and Allie. I cannot believe it has been a whole year since BlogHer!

One of the biggest things I wanted to do before heading to BlogHer, was to lose a lot of weight. Well, that did not happen. I did not lose a lot of weight, but I did lose some.

It has been sort of a dream of mine for a long time to have our very treadmill. Going to the gym has not been very realistic, as every time I put Allie in Kids Club, she comes home with some sort of plague. The room has no ventilation and the bathroom is completely disgusting. It smells so bad in there that I have gagged each time I have gone. Evidently, they do not empty the Diaper Genie often enough because it is not doing its job. There is no change in cleanliness from visit to visit. Mr. Bear finally put his foot down and said he does not want Allie there anymore. Finding time to run outside, without a kid in tow has proved to be more and more difficult over time. The problem with owning a treadmill? Where to put the damn thing?

We found a great deal on a gently used treadmill on Craigslist and finally I have my very own! It has made it difficult to say, “I don’t have time.” “I can’t.” “What should I do about Allie?” Now, no excuses. That is where I have been for the past three weeks and I am proud to say I am sticking to this—sort of. I think one of the reasons it is so easy to find a great treadmill for a great price is that they become clothes racks. I have been determined not to let this one become a clothes rack here. It has not been as easy as I thought it would be, however. There are many excuses to let it sit, unused.

After some success, this past three weeks, we finally dumped the gym that we have paid monthly on since 2004. I shudder to calculate the cost of that. That is 8 years! I could have bought a new treadmill a year for that! We no longer have the pool to swim in, which is likely for the best. The pool was not much better than the condition of the Kids Club facility. Ick.

I set up a “TV shelf” in front of the treadmill for my laptop. My strategy for the treadmill has been to catch up or start all the TV series I have always wanted to watch, but never had time. I am ashamed to admit that I have been watching, “The Hills” after getting hooked on #RetroMTV in the mornings after dropping Allie off at daycamp. I am currently watching, “Drop Dead Diva” and I think it is an adorable show. I am loving Netflix right now and so is my shrinking waistline!

I am nursing a bum knee from the marathon training earlier this year. I am alternating running or jogging and walking. I am completely out of shape and feeling it on every workout. My weight is down and I have lost the same 9.5 pounds I have gained and lost since January. That is something, right?

What Alice Forgot BlogHer Book Club Review

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I finished the book What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty yesterday. From the moment I picked up the book, I was hooked. By page five, I could not put it down. It was one of the best books I have read this year. I finished nearly 500 pages in the course of one day—and in only a few hours.

The plot of What Alice Forgot centers around the main character, Alice, whom is in the middle of a brutal custody battle with her husband and has grown apart from her sister she was once close with. The story begins with Alice regaining consciousness in a gym after falling off the stationary bike in a spin class, and is surrounded by people she does not recognize. When she is questioned by the paramedics to determine her state of mind, she responds that she is 29 years old. Her friend argues that she has recently received an invitation to Alice’s 40th birthday party. She believes she is pregnant with her child she had ten years earlier.

Alice has forgotten about ten years of her life.

She does not understand the contemporary context of relationships with friends and family, within the frame of ten years before. She does not remember her children. The last thing she remembered was being pregnant and preparing for the arrival of her first child.

This book made me consider what it would be like to lose ten years, additionally what I would miss in context of the past ten years. Would I understand the state of affairs from my frame of reference of 2002? It gave me a lot to think about. Would I use my blog and my private diary to catch up on my life? What would it be like to forget about my daughter? What would that feel like? What was I doing ten years ago? Would I be happy with the direction my life has gone?

I absolutely loved, loved, loved this book. I loved the character development and the clues along the way, as Alice begins to fill in the blanks of her memory. There is a considerable amount of moving from the past to the present and back again throughout the book. I typically do not like the disorientation and confusion I normally feel in books like this, however it was not confusing, nor was it disorienting. In fact, it was very well done.

This was an excellent book and I highly recommend putting this on your summer reading list.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own. I was compensated for my review, and received a copy of What Alice Forgot HOWEVER, I only recommend products and/or services I personally believe in.

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